Animated Books

[Simon Edmondson]

http://themetapicture.com/hidden-messages-in-books/

 

A friend spotted this.

Perhaps of interest ?

[Wildsided]

That's cool Simon, very cool. I don't think I own any books that old sadly.

[Rodney]

That's is cool. Books tended to be customized and each copy unique in the olden days especially if they were to be gifts which often was the case.

 

I've got a small collection of books that have scribbled animation inserted into the corners of their pages.

As a kid I always wanted to do that but never got far beyond the moving dots stage.

When I find these in stores they always capture my attention.

 

I'd love to know more about the technique used for painting the sides of those pages.

I assume they fanned out the pages slightly (as in the position where they could be seen) and painted it there.

Beyond that though... did they put it in a vice or wrap it tightly with string to keep it in place...

[robcat2075]

That could be something in a spy movie. The secret map is on the edge of a book!

[Rodney]

Wow. Turns out there is a ton of information related to this technique online.

 

Here's an article devoted to it:

 

http://foreedge.bpl.org/node/923

 

and a site with a bunch of books with fore-edge paintings:

 

http://twistedsifter.com/2013/09/hidden-ar...edges-of-books/

 

 

Added: It does appear that as time wore on the fore-edge painting became more fore-edge printing because some of the latter ones appear to have been stamped on.

 

 

And the technique in action by modern day artist Stephen Bowers:

 

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